Line 6 brings MIDI control and a killer guitar interface to your iPad

Being the music junkie I am you’d think that I could play an instrument or 10. That’s not the case, but I do love it when geekery and music collide. Enter Line 6. The company that has made a name for itself with amplifiers, effects, guitar pedals and the like is taking things into the digital age with some accessories to help you make amazing music no matter where you are.

The first things that I stumbled upon were the company’s Mobile Keys keyboards. Available in a 25 or 49 key variation, they interface perfectly with any music software that can be controlled via MIDI. For those of you who are wondering, yes that means that you can use Mobile Keys on OS X, Windows and even on the iPhone or iPad with the included 30-pin connector.

The units both feature pressure-sensitive keys, pitch-bend wheels, volume, pan, sustain and much more. Essentially, they have everything that you’d want to see in a portable MIDI key controller.

The two controllers are competitively-priced, as well. The 45-key will run with an MSRP of $150. Stepping up to the 49-key will set you back a mere $200.

For you guitar players, there’s good news as well. The Mobile In is a 30-pin interface that lets you plug your guitar in to your iPhone or iPad. It comes along with Line 6’s stellar modeling software, a direct representation of POD, called Mobile POD. What you get are 32 amplifiers, 16 cabinets, then 16 stompbox and rack effects, all stackable and changeable at your leisure.

The Mobile In interface can also be used with other software, but Line 6 has done an admirable job of providing you with more options than you’re likely to ever use. Given that you can pocket the device, it’ss easy to snag it and  simply plug it in then play to your heart’s content. We can see this being a big hit with the mobile music makers everywhere. Better yet? It retails for around $80.

We’re scouring the floor for more of the best from CES 2012. To keep up with all of our content, make sure to bookmark this link. Until next time, check out the Line 6 stuff and let us know what you think.

➤ Line 6